Takeaways: Tomlin Won’t Rule Out Big Picture Changes, But What Can Be Done to Stop Steelers Slide?
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Pittsburgh Steelers hit what feels like rock bottom on Sunday, with their 35-point loss to the Buffalo Bills serving as the worst under head coach Mike Tomlin and the worst in franchise history since 1989.
Just over a quarter of the way through the 2022 season, the Steelers sit at 1-4 in dead last place in the entire NFL, and face the rest of their meat-grinder middle portion of their schedule. Pittsburgh’s next three opponents are 11-4, and a 1-7 start to the 2022 season appears very possible.
So where do they go from here?
“We’ve got to absorb the position that we’re in and what transpired today,” head coach Mike Tomlin said after the loss. “We’ve got to know that there’s going to be better days, not to provide or to seek comfort. Knowing that there’s better days is going to be born out of our commitment to making sure that there’s better days. That’s what I talked to the team about.”
How will Tomlin ensure that better days are ahead? He left the door open to any kind of changes, from benching starters to replacing coaches.
“You play like we played today, you’ve got to be open to doing whatever is required to change the outcome of these games,” Tomlin said. “That’s a given. I don’t think anybody is going to be surprised by our willingness to turn over whatever stone to change the outcomes of games like what transpired today. That’s just appropriate. … I think everyone understands where we are and what transpired today and that it is not cool. So, you can draw whatever conclusions you want to draw from it. That’s just the reality of our business at this level.”
Of course, the stones have already been turning. Tomlin already benched starting nose tackle Tyson Alualu and turned to quarterback Kenny Pickett. The peek into the team’s depth provided by injuries have largely shown that the depth players are in fact significantly worse than than those ahead of them.
SO HOW CAN STEELERS STOP THE SLIDE?
They have to be able to find a way to run the ball. Tomlin was asked after the game about his team’s lack of success in the ground game, and he was largely dismissive, saying that the Steelers got behind big against the Bills.
That’s true, but that didn’t stop them from trying to run (the team run five times over three consecutive three and outs at one point), nor did it prevent the run from succeeding. If anything, a Bills team that knew the Steelers needed to pass to get back into the game should have been more susceptible to success against the run.
Instead, Najee Harris hushed 11 times for 20 yards, a paltry 1.8 yards per carry. Jaylen Warren had a better day, but as a team, the Steelers averaged 3.2 yards per carry. That just isn’t going to cut it.
The Steelers do not figure to have a splash-play offense. The only receiving target that figures to be able to routinely deliver that is rookie George Pickens. They need to stay on schedule and sustain drives, and while a short passing game can provide that for a long time, it’s hard to do it consistently when a team can’t run the ball.
That’s especially true in the red zone, when the threat of a deep pass comes off the table. The Bills clearly weren’t afraid of the Steelers running the ball. When they no longer had to worry about Pickens or Diontae Johnson getting free for big gains in their secondary, Buffalo was able to shut the Steelers down.
The Steelers had six drives of 40 yards or more against the Bills. They stalled at the Buffalo 11, 15, 20, 27, 30 and 26. The Steelers kicked one field goal, missed two more, and failed on three fourth-down conversions.
The team can be more efficient in the red zone than it was on Sunday, but it will be hard for it to consistently be better in that area without a stronger running game, and it’s not like Buffalo was the first place Pittsburgh struggled to run the ball this season.
Harris is tied for 45th in the NFL with a 3.2 yards per carry average this season. As a team, the Steelers are 29th in rushing yards, and in yards per carry, and that’s with Jaylen Warren (4.9 yards per carry) lifting Harris up.
There is more than one way to improve a rushing attack, but the Steelers need to find one, and fast. That could involve changing the offensive line, though they are 18th in run blocking this season, per PFF, a large improvement from last season’s 27th.
Furthermore, it’s far from clear that any of the Steelers backup linemen would present an upgrade at this point.
They can, and probably should, get more blocking into the game with personnel. The Steelers’ wide receivers are 149th (Pickens), 178th (Johnson) and 244th (Chase Claypool) in run blocking. A combination of more usage from No. 2 tight end Zach Gentry, fullback Derek Watt, or perhaps the usage of a sixth offensive lineman, could get the Steelers running game going.
The Steelers should probably also concede what’s been obvious, that Warren has been more effective than Harris and that the two backs should at least be in a time share at this point. Tomlin has stubbornly insisted on preferring to use one primary running back throughout his tenure, something that is far out of tune with the NFL norm.
LET KENNY COOK
The rest of the Steelers offense’s ability to improve largely hinges on the play of Pickett, who wasn’t a dramatic difference maker in his first start, but was far from a problem for the Steelers on a day with many. The change here has already been made, and now patience is required to see how it will play out.
The only other possible change to be made to the offense would be the removal of play-calling duties from coordinator Matt Canada. Tomlin didn’t flatly rule it out, but changing his coordinator one game into his tenure as an NFL quarterback would be putting Pickett in about the worse possible place to succeed as a young passer, and his development needs to be the focus going forward. It’s also far from clear that there is an upgrade on Canada available to the Steelers at this current moment. The time for replacing coordinators is the offseason.
BRING BACK BLITZBURGH
On defense, it’s hard to imagine the Steelers being able to do much more than get healthy at this point.
They finished the game without T.J. Watt, Larry Ogunjobi, Ahkello Witherspoon, Terrell Edmunds, Cam Sutton and Levi Wallace and with Cam Hayward, Minkah Fitzpatrick and James Pierre playing through injuries.
Considering the talent level of the Buffalo offense, and who was missing from the Pittsburgh defense, it should probably be surprising that the Bills only scored 38 points.
The secondary, in particular, has been beaten up by injury and was picked on by Josh Allen and company. I don’t think there’s enough talent or experience left to do much more with that group.
But the Steelers got just one quarterback hit on Allen and no sacks, and that hit came from Fitzpatrick. They also let him beat them with his legs, to the tune of five carries for 42 yards. So they had no pass rush and still lost contain.
The Steelers front group without Watt and with a hobbled Heyward isn’t one that should be expected to continue their streak of leading the NFL in sacks, but it’s far from talentless. Heyward, DeMarvin Leal and Alex Highsmith are all solid pass rushers.
It does not seem that new defensive coordinator Teryl Austin shares his predecessor’s fondness for blitzing, and the Steelers have relied mostly on a four-man rush to this point.
That’s understandable. Blitzing puts even more pressure on a beleaguered secondary. But if the Steelers aren’t going to be able to stop them on the back end anyway, more aggressive rush calls could only help.
FEW GOOD OPTIONS FOR STEELERS
If the big suggestions for change after a historic loss amounting to playing a backup running back and second tight end more and dialing up a few more blitzes seems like not nearly enough to make that big of an impact, that’s probably true.
But the Steelers big problem — an overall lack of talent — can’t be solved right now. They can be better than they were in Buffalo and will probably win some games in the weeks ahead, but it has the making of a long season in Pittsburgh.
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